Lambert I of Spoleto

Lambert I of Spoleto (850-880) was Duke of Spoleto from 859 to 871 and 876 to 880 with a five-year interruption by Suppo II of Spoleto, succeeding Guy I of Spoleto and preceding Guy II of Spoleto.

Biography
Lambert was born in 850, the eldest son of Guy I of Spoleto and the daughter of Sico of Benevento, and he married Eberhard of Friuli's daughter. Lambert aided King Louis II of Italy and the Frankish Kingdom of Italy in their conquest of the Sawdanid Emirate of Bari, but in 860 the Lambert and Count Hildebert of Camerino rebelled against Louis II. The rebellion failed and, in 866, Louis entrusted Lambert with besieging Landulf II of Capua in exchange for the County of Capua, allowing for the Duchy of Spoleto to reach its greatest extent. On 13 December 867 Lambert plundered Rome during Pope Adrian II's papal coronation ceremony, and he lost the friendship of Louis due to his excommunication and his war against the imperial-supported pope. In 871, he allied with Guaifer of Salerno, Adelchis of Benevento, and Sergius II of Naples against Louis II, but the Saracens attacked Spoleto and deposed him, replacing him with Suppo II of Spoleto. In 873, Louis II besieged Benevento while Lambert was in exile, but his death led to his successor Charles the Bald returning Lambert his fief in 876. The next year, Charles died and Lambert supported Carloman of Bavaria against Louis the Stammerer, but Pope John VIII dissuaded Lambert from proclaiming himself king of Italy after he made plans to take Rome. In 878, Adalbert I of Tuscany and Lambert forced the people to acknowledge Carloman as king, and Pope John VIII was forced to flee to Troyes after they besieged Rome. In 880, Lambert died besieging Capua, a goal that he never accomplished. His family would go on to be very important in imperial politics in the next century.